


A Particularly Female Time: A Jily Fanfic

by andwhisperstalesofmk



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Caretaking, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff, Hogwarts, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Mild Hurt/Comfort, Remus Lupin & James Potter Friendship, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, jily, mother hen james potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 03:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19898845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andwhisperstalesofmk/pseuds/andwhisperstalesofmk
Summary: When James finds a pale and sad looking Lily in the Great Hall, he assumes she's coming down with something, much to his concern. But that which plagues Lily is no passing virus. Instead, it's a monthly occurrence.A bit of fluff-- I love these two and also feel like women should be allowed to complain more to men about their periods. Lily/James Romance, Lily/Remus Friendship, James/Remus Friendship...





	A Particularly Female Time: A Jily Fanfic

"You okay, Lils? You look a little green."

James Potter plopped himself down next to the head girl on the long wooden bench of the Great Hall's Gryffindor table. He sat next to her so often these days that nobody even bothered trying to take his spot next to her anymore. It was His Spot. 

"I'm fine," she said, straightening up a bit but looking the same amount of miserable. She gave him a small smile that even she knew mustn't have been convincing.

"I don't know, Lily," he persisted. "You look properly tired, too. Are you sure you're not coming down with something?"

He raised a hand to press against her pale cheek, catching her eye for permission as he did so.

"I'm okay, really," she said, but she let him check her temperature anyway and leaned into his touch when it came.

"You don't feel warm," he conceded, "but I've never been any good at telling." 

They had only been dating a few weeks, but James was already fully accustomed to looking after her. She had already started studying for her N.E.W.T.s, and he'd found her more than once as of late in the library after hours. One night last week, she'd been asleep at the desk, her head nestled against the potions textbook like the softest of pillows. He'd draped the invisibility cloak around her, as it was all he had on him, not thinking of the scare it would give her in the morning. She hadn't even known he owned it.

She longed for that cloak now though, wishing she could just disappear rather than suffer under the questions and concerned glances of her friends.

"James, trust me. I'm not ill." She placed her head in her arms on the table, her empty plate pushed to the side.

"Are you not eating anything either, then? Lil, I know you don't want to be, but all signs point to you being unwell. We could pop down to the hospital wing before class. I'd take you and we'd be back in a flash. You wouldn't miss a second of notes, I promise."

She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, James caught sight of a friend. 

"Remus! Remus, come here!" he called, rising again from the bench to wave so Remus could locate them.

The boy hastened towards them, his smile fading to a look of gentle concern as he observed James' furrowed brow.

"What's the matter?" he asked, looking the pair of them up and down.

"Lily's sick and she won't listen to me," James said. "Tell her she's either got to eat something or I'm taking her to hospital."

"Remus, please," Lily said, begging something silently with her gaze.

"She's alright, James," Remus said. He went a bit pink as he said it, but his voice didn't waver.

"She's not alright! Look at her!" His raised voice startled a cluster of nearby diners, all of whom looked up from their sausages at the trio. James sank sheepishly back down beside Lily, but continued his protest. "No offense, love, you're beautiful every day, of course, but you do look peaky today! You're pale and puffy and sad. You can't see yourself but trust me, you look so sad." Lily said nothing, but he could swear he saw her lower lip quiver. "It hurts my heart, okay? Please just let me take you to the hospital wing."

The next thing James knew, Lily had wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. He could feel her tears on his skin. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he cooed. "I'm sorry you don't feel well." He put a hand on the back of her head, which only made her cry harder. "You see, Remus? I told you she wasn't alright!"

"Well, she isn't sick, at least," Remus said.

"What are you talking about? Of course she is! I've never seen her so miserable!"

At that, Lily raised her head from his shoulder. "God, this is so embarrassing!" she said. She caught Remus' eye and he gave her a small smile of encouragement. "I'm not ill, not really. It's... that time of the month." The last was said in a sheepish whisper, but James hardly noticed as he looked immediately to Lupin. 

"That was last week," he said quickly, now properly worried.

"Not my time-- HER time," said Remus. "A particularly female time." 

Now it was James who went pink. Deep pink. Magenta, one might even say. His eyes went slightly wide.

"I'm sorry, James. It's usually not this bad. Remus found me this morning in the common room absolutely keeled over with cramps and gave me a potion he had stashed for the pain. It helped, but did nothing for the nausea and general awfulness. Muggles have better period remedies than you lot!" she moaned. She covered her eyes with her hands and took another deep breath, dragging them down her face. "I'm sorry-- that's probably too much information. I wasn't going to say anything."

This time, it was James who wrapped his arms around her.

"What?" She looked up at Remus, who shrugged, and then she turned her eyes skyward again, trying to keep the next batch of tears from falling over her waterline. The physical touch was just getting to her today-- she had no doubt that it was the hormones.

"It's not too much information. You _are_ ill and you _are_ sad and I still want you to feel better," James continued, pulling back from the hug. "Can I do anything? Can I get you anything? Is your bag heavy today? I'll carry it!"

"James, no, it's fine. I'm fine. This is a monthly occurrence. I know how to handle it. I'm okay, just... gross feeling, for today. I'll be better later, or tomorrow, or the next day, at any rate," she said, smiling an actual smile this time. She took his hand into hers. "But you are sweet."

"You do have to eat something though. Just a bit of something!" he insisted. "Some toast, or a spoonful of jam, or... Rem, do you have any chocolate on you? Maybe a taste of that? Just a little something, Lil."

She acquiesced, and when they rose from the table after her lick of marmalade, James did take her bag, which as he had suspected was laden with books.


End file.
